Traditionally, people have obtained information from traditional information media such as newspapers, TV and radio. A number of problems are associated with such traditional information media. For example, the information in newspapers may not be current. Because of the time required to print and deliver a newspaper, the news and other information in the newspaper may be more than five to ten hours old by the time it is received. Moreover, traditional informational media such as TV, radio, and newspapers deliver information that may not be of interest to the user. In conventional TV and radio broadcasts, for example, the user must listen to stories that are not of interest while waiting for stories of interest to be presented. In a newspaper, the user must sift through news and stories that may be of interest before getting to the news and stories of interest. Consequently, a user can waste time trying to obtain desired information.
People have been able to access current news and information through the Internet. Information obtained through the Internet is generally more current than information in, e.g., newspapers. On-line news services, for example, put news items on server computers. Using an Internet-accessible computer, users can access this information as soon as it is put on the server computers. In comparison to a printed newspaper, for example, news delivered through the Internet requires no printing or physical delivery that impedes the delivery of information to the user.
In response to the need to filter through unwanted information, Internet-based informational services such as Pointcast (now Entrypoint) were created to help users receive only the information that they want. Using a service such as Pointcast, users may have only information that they are interested in delivered to them. The user need not actively seek desired information. For example, if a user is interested in receiving information about stocks, the user can specify this with the service. Current stock information is automatically delivered to the user's computer.
While the Internet-based information services have addressed many of the problems of traditional informational media, many improvements could be made. For example, much of the information obtained through the Internet is graphical. Viewing graphical information such as pictures and text can occupy both the eyes and hands of a user. It is difficult to consume such information when, for example, the user's eyes and hands are occupied. For example, it is difficult to view a Web page with news on it while shaving. Furthermore, a typical household has only one or two Internet-accessible computers and only one or two Internet access lines for typically four or more potential users (e.g., a family of four). Some potential users may not be able to use the computer when they want to. For example, one family member may be using the only computer in the house, thus preventing other family members from using it. As users' lives become busier, it would be desirable for users to obtain more information of interest to them.
It is especially difficult for a person to consume graphical information in the morning. In the morning, people generally do not have much time to consume graphical information as they are busy preparing to go to work or school. Children, in particular, are unlikely to view graphical information on Web sites before school, because their parents do not want them to use a home computer before they go to school. The children might be tempted to play games or interact with the computer in a manner, which will delay the children's departure from the home.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems.